ACT Showdown!
by Fair Sword Maiden
Summary: Cloud is taking the ACT! When things don't go according to plan, he beats himself up. Tifa offers him encouragement, and helps him overcome his self-defeatist attitude. In the end, Cloud learns an important lesson. Humor. Minor CloTi
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII**

**A/N: Alright, this is based on a true story. I have no idea why I chose Cloud to represent myself. The only thing I have in common with Cloud is that we both are blondes and. . .we can seriously beat ourselves up when things don't happen the way we want them to.**

**Ironically, I came up with the idea of the Final Fantasy characters taking the ACT while I was taking an ACT! Surprisingly, I got a great score on that test!**

Cloud ran out of the high school feeling free. School was out for the summer! However, he knew what was in store for him this summer: studying for the ACT!

"Oh, why did standardized testing have to be a part of college entrance?" Cloud groaned to himself. College was really important to Cloud, especially since he was a great student. But, every single sixteen-year-old student was in the same position. The summer between sophomore and junior year was the designated time for standardized test studying.

So, Cloud went straight to the library and headed in the direction of the testing section. He got various books about the ACT; some promised perfect scores, other boasted about being better than other test-prep books, and some books weren't helpful at all.

When he got home, Cloud sat at his desk and cracked open a book called _This Book is Guaranteed to Get You a 36! _

The book was extremely monotonous, explaining test strategies and methods of studying. After about two hours of reading, his cell phone vibrated. Cloud looked down and saw that it was a text from Zack.

"_Hey Cloud! Do you want to go play basketball with me and Genesis?"_

Cloud sighed and replied back. _"No, I'm studying." _

Within seconds, Zack replied. _"Studying what? School's out if you haven't noticed."_

Cloud replied. _"I'm studying for the ACT so that I can get into a good college unlike you."_

Zack replied. _"Bah. I don't need to study. I'm just going to walk in and take that test on the day it's given."_

Cloud laughed and replied. _"Go for it. But don't come crying to me when you get a 12."_

Cloud didn't receive a response to that text, which is a good thing because he was busy studying.

And so, Cloud continued in this boring manner over the course of the entire summer. He only spent two hours in fun activities that summer. That only happened when Tifa persuaded him to play Wii baseball with her. It was fun, but he could've used that time for studying.

Cloud became obsessed with this standardized test because he wanted to get into a good school with a high scholarship. Now there is nothing wrong with being goal-oriented, but Cloud took it to an extreme level. The lust for a high ACT score was starting to take over his brain. It was the only thing he would talk about, and his friends were getting sick of it.

Finally, school started again and the ACT was scheduled in the middle of the year.

"Well, you'll be happy that the ACT is coming up, Cloud. Then you can get your perfect score and you won't need to study all the time," Tifa said to him.

"Nice try. You know that I'll have to start applying for colleges afterwards," Cloud said.

Tifa was annoyed. Cloud was always her best friend, but he seemed to have forgotten his self-worth. After all, this was just a test, and he was focusing on it all the time.

Finally, April came, the month the ACT was to be given. Much to Tifa's relief, Cloud decided to give himself a break during the week approaching the ACT.

"I've done enough studying. I'm giving my brain a rest," Cloud said.

"Good. You've only spent every waking second studying for that stupid test," Tifa said.

"Bah! This wasn't a waste of time, Tifa. You'll see. I'll step out of that test with a really high score. A high score will look great along with my 4.0 GPA. When I apply the colleges, they'll be dying to give me scholarships, and I may even enter into their honors programs," Cloud explained.

"Well, it will be interesting to see what happens, Cloud. I hope that all of your desires actually can true. But in the meantime, stop being so arrogant," Tifa said as she walked off, annoyed.

For the rest of the week, Cloud wanted to hang out with his friends. He wanted to play basketball with Zack and Genesis, but they were cramming for the ACT. He asked Tifa if she wanted to start a Wii baseball tournament, but she was busy studying for her biology exam. In reality, she didn't feel like listening to Cloud boast about how much he studied for the ACT. Finally, he asked Aerith if she wanted to play World of Warcraft with him (in this story, Aerith is a nerd). However, she had too many commitments. Aerith was the captain of the Dungeons and Dragons campaign at the high school, and the big tournament was coming up on Friday. So she couldn't play with Cloud.

The night before the ACT, Cloud got all of his supplies together. He brought his admission ticket, pencils, driver's license, permitted calculator, and a nutrition bar for a snack. He was all set to go.

So, he decided to watch TV. It would have been a lot more fun with his friends, but they were all cramming for the ACT. He just wanted this test to be over, so that he could get his friends back.

The next morning, Cloud woke up early feeling extremely nervous. He could only eat half his breakfast due to the fact that his stomach was filled with the waves of nervousness and anticipation.

All to soon, he arrived at his high school. His friends met up with him, but he was too nervous to even speak. Instead he just leaned against a wall, waiting for the testing room to open.

Now Cloud had taken about twelve practice tests, so he knew what to expect. Why was he so nervous? Clearly he had taken harder tests than this. But the test was probably the most important test in his life. He _had _to get a good score, or else he wouldn't qualify for scholarships, special programs for talented students, and most importantly. . .college admission!

_I need to get a good score! I can't afford to be taking this test over and over again! _

All too soon, the door to his test room opened. He handed his driver's license and test ticket to the woman who was to be the proctor for the test.

"Your name will be on one of the desks," she said as she signed him in. Cloud walked around until he found the desk with an index card that read "Strife, Cloud." Luckily, he was right in the front row. Sitting next to him was Aerith and she looked as nervous as he was.

"Hey Aerith, are you nervous?" Cloud asked.

Aerith sighed and said, "Yeah. I studied a lot, but I think that the D&D campaign took away from my last minute studying," she said as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

Cloud silently laughed to himself. Aerith was over the top when it came to studying. She was almost worse than he was. Aerith studied all the time, even during D&D campaigns. When it wasn't her turn during a round of D&D, she would pick up her notes and begin studying science, history, math, or anything else.

It seemed that all of the students arrived, and proctor stood up.

"Today, everyone in this class will be taking the ACT. The ACT is a standardized test that is used for college acceptance. Everyone in this room will be taking the non-essay test. If you believe that you are supposed to be taking the essay test, please raise your hand," the proctor said. No one raised their hand.

"Remember to turn off your cell phone or the alarm on your watch. If your cell phone or alarm goes off during the test, you will be dismissed and your answer document will be void. I will now pass out the tests and answer sheets. Please do not break the seal on the test booklet until you are told to do so," she said.

Cloud looked at the test booklet that was handed to him. The front of the test just had a boring explanation about what the ACT was. Cloud quickly scanned through it, and he began to feel confident.

_That's so stupid! I know all of the stuff that I just read on this page. I already knew that the ACT doesn't have a guessing penalty. _

"Once you are done reading, look up," the proctor said. Cloud immediately looked up.

"Now you may fill out the first three columns on the answer sheet," she said. Cloud spent about five minutes filling out this name, address, phone number, test booklet number, and social security number.

"You may now break the seal of your test booklet," the proctor said.

Cloud broke the seal. _Man, there are far too many steps to taking these standardized tests! No wonder you hear so many horror stories about them._

"The first test is the English section. You will have forty-five minutes for this test. You may begin now," the proctor said.

Cloud looked at his watch and began testing. He always thought that the English section was really easy, and he breezed through it. When he was finished, he had fifteen minutes to spare.

When he was done, he looked through his questions to make sure that he agreed with all of his answers. This was a bad idea; he decided to change the answers to some of his questions. Little did Cloud know that the answers choices he picked first were the correct ones.

After the English section ended, it was time for the mathematics test. Cloud was very good at mathematics, so he assumed that he would do well on this test. However, self-doubt crept in. Cloud thought that he was answering the questions too quickly and he assumed that he was solving them wrong. Again, Cloud did not trust himself, and he made several careless mistakes that would cost him his score.

"You have five minutes remaining," the proctor said.

_Five minutes! I'd better finish these last ten problems at warp speed!_

And that's what Cloud did. He wasn't the most thorough with solving the problems, but at least he finished the test.

"The time is up. Put your pencils down," the proctor said.

Cloud breathed a sigh of relief.

"You are now allowed a ten minute break. You may walk the halls, but you cannot talk," she said. Cloud walked down the hall and began to eat the energy bar he had brought with him. He felt good about what he accomplished so far, and the rest of the test wasn't bad. After he finished eating, he went back to the testing room where he saw a very frazzled looking Aerith.

"Aerith, are you alright?" he asked.

"I think that I've just blown the entire test," she said.

"Why? Did you leave any questions blank?" he asked.

"No. I answered them all, I just have this feeling that I didn't so well," she said.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Just do your absolute best. Then you can be happy with how you scored." Aerith just shrugged her shoulders.

Little did cloud know that he should take a bit of his own advice.

The next section was the reading test. This was pretty easy, and Cloud thought that he was answering the questions perfectly. The rest of the ACT was going to be a breeze.

After the reading came the final section of the test - the Science Reasoning section. Cloud had heard friends of his complain about this test, but he wasn't afraid. He was able to take on those charts and graphs like a true warrior. He made sure that he left the Fighting Scientists passage as the last one. This was a strategy he read in one of his books.

All to soon, the proctor called the five minute warning for the test. Cloud was already finished. He felt that he took a good test, but he was annoyed that he had to wait five minutes for the other students to finish up.

"The time is up. You may put your pencils down," the proctor said.

"Now, complete the final column on the first page of your answer sheet," she said.

Cloud had to write out a statement saying that he was the person who took that test and that he did not have someone else take the test for him. It was really stupid and a waste of time.

Afterwards, the woman walked around the room and collected the answer documents and books.

"The test is over. Make sure you have all of your belongings, and have a nice day," she said.

All of the students raced out of the classroom, Cloud being the first in line. He ran out of the classroom and all the way home. He felt good about his performance on the test. He would find out how he did in two weeks. Until then, he could return to a normal lifestyle. As soon as he got home, he sent texts to Zack and Genesis to see if they wanted to play basketball.

**A/N: So what score did Cloud get on the ACT? I'll update ASAP. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII.**

**A/N: I'm finally back! Sorry for the wait. . .I know that you are just as anxious as Cloud is about seeing how he scored on the ACT. I was busy with finals, but now that I am a graduated, updates should be more frequent. Enough ranting! Let's get to the story.**

So, two weeks passed, and Cloud had eased back into his normal life again. He was back to hanging out with his friends, studying for his regular subjects, and playing sports.

All of his friends were glad to have the "normal" Cloud back, especially Tifa. She always hated it when Cloud got into one of his weird moods. If things didn't go according to plan, he would beat himself up for weeks or sometimes even months. And when Cloud was a self-defeatist, it was time for Tifa to offer her encouraging words. This is why Tifa was praying hard that Cloud did well on the ACT.

Eventually, the day when the scores were released came. Cloud was in the computer lab with Tifa and Aerith.

"Ok, it's the moment I've been waiting for," Cloud said as he grinned.

"This had better be good, Cloud. You've been bragging about how well you did all week," Aerith complained as she sat down to a computer. Tifa took the computer next to Aerith.

"Who wants to go first?" Tifa asked.

"Oh, don't be a chicken! Let's all do it at the same time and get it over with!" Aerith said.

"Fine, we'll do it your way then," Tifa said.

Cloud logged onto the ACT website in order to get his score. He typed in his username and password. The site made him do this process three more times in order to verify that he was the true Cloud Strife receiving the score.

Finally the screen popped up that said, "Your Composite Score:"

"Oh, here it is," Cloud said, imagining seeing a great score on the screen.

"Ok, we're all logged on. On the count of three, we're all going to look at our scores. Ready?" Aeirth said.

Cloud and Tifa nodded.

"One. . .ten thousand . . .two . . .twenty-five. . .seventy-two. . .," Aerith said.

"Aerith! Just say three! I'm dying over here!" Cloud shouted.

Aerith sighed. "Alright, alright. Three!" she yelled.

At that very moment, Cloud scrolled down and saw his score. There he saw in big bold letters was. . .20.

"A twenty? What?" Cloud yelled.

"_Uh, oh. This isn't going to be good," _Tifa thought.

"That's not a bad score, Cloud," Aerith said.

"Yes it is! It's horrible! I can't get accepted with this score!" Cloud yelled.

"Yeah, Cloud. Aeirth's right. You got a solid score," Tifa said.

"That doesn't make me feel better, Tifa. You probably scored higher than me," Cloud said.

"Er. . .maybe," Tifa said.

"What did you get?"

"Um. . .a twenty-seven," she said quietly.

"A twenty-seven? How did you do that?" he asked.

"Um. . .I took the test and got that score," Tifa said.

"Aw, cheer up, Cloud! I just looked up the schedule of upcoming ACTs, and you're in luck! They're giving another ACT in June! That's just in six weeks!" Aeirth said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"But I don't want to take it again! That test was so painful!" Cloud complained.

"Well, you're not going to get into a good college if you just take the easy way out. I read in a standardized test prep book that most students take the ACT at least two or three times before they get the score that they want," Aerith said.

"But I spent almost an entire year studying for this test! And I got the score of someone who just crammed for the test the night before. I bet that Zack and Genesis did better than me," Cloud complained.

"Cloud, how many times do I have to tell you not to compare yourself with other people? It just makes you jealous," Tifa said.

"But this is different! There are scholarships at stake here! I wouldn't be able to deal with the embarrassment if Zack got a scholarship and I didn't!" Cloud said.

Aerith then looked up at Cloud. "Are you saying that my boyfriend is an idiot?" she asked.

"No, I don't think that Zack is an idiot, it's just that I'm smarter than him," Cloud said.

Tifa rolled her eyes. "Here we go again," she said under her breath.

Just to make things even better, Zack and Genesis came running into the room.

"Ha! Take a look at this, Aerith!" Zack said as he handed her a paper.

"A thirty? Not bad," she said handing the paper back to him.

"That's all you have to say? What did you get?" Zack asked.

"A thirty-two!" Aerith said to his face.

"Well, excuse me," Zack said.

Genesis ran over to Cloud. "I got a twenty-five, Cloud. What did you get?" he asked.

"Why is it any of your concern?" Cloud said with attitude.

"Ooo, that doesn't sound too good, Cloud. You probably didn't get a high score for a scholarship, did you?" Genesis asked.

"It's really none of your business," Cloud said.

"Hey, Cloud! I was just doing some research, and I just found out that a twenty isn't bad at all! It's actually the national average!" Aerith shouted. Tifa face palmed when Aerith said this. Now everyone in the room knew what Cloud scored.

"But I'm better than average!" Cloud shouted.

"I was just trying to get you to realize that you got a really solid score," Aerith said.

"Aerith, this isn't helping," Tifa said to her.

Zack and Genesis looked at each other in unison.

"Cloud, getting a twenty? Cloud, who studied the entire summer and school year, bombed the ACT like that?" Zack said.

"He didn't bomb it," Tifa said.

"No, Tifa. He's right; I did bomb it," Cloud said as he hung his head. Cloud grabbed his books and left the computer lab.

"Oh great. We've got emo Cloud right now," Genesis said.

"Well, you two didn't help! You're supposed to give Cloud encouragement, not throw him an anchor!" Tifa said as she stormed out of the room.

Aerith stood up also. "Yeah, she's right. I have to get going, I have another D&D campaign in about thirty minutes," she said.

That afternoon when Cloud went back home, he sat at his desk and stared at his ACT results.

_20. 20. 20. _

These seemed to be the only numbers that Cloud would see in his mind.

_Why? I spent my whole entire summer and school year preparing! I put in three times the effort of most of my friends! And that's the lousy score I get? Ugh!_

Then it hit Cloud. Maybe he prepared too much for the ACT. What if he prepared the way his friends did? Maybe he was meant to fail this test as a lesson to prove that he studies beyond what is necessary.

"I know what I have to do. I'm going to take the plunge and re-take the ACT in June. I have plenty of time to study new strategies before then," Cloud said to himself.

So, he went to the ACT website and signed up for the test in June.

"Time to study again," Cloud said as he cracked open an ACT book. Just then, his cell phone rang. He looked down to see that it was Tifa calling him.

"Hey Tifa, what's up?" Cloud asked.

"Nothing much. I was calling you to see how you were feeling. I hope that you're not punishing yourself for not getting the score that you wanted.

"Not really. I feel better because I sighed up for the June test. I hope that I can score higher this time around," Cloud said.

"Cloud, all you focus on is getting a high score. Since you're re-taking this test, I think that you need to fix your attitude before you begin any studying," Tifa said.

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked.

"For starters, you were a crazy power-seeking fool preparing for your last test. You spent all of your time studying and boasting how you were better than all the students. You just assumed that you were going to get a good score. Most students have to take these test at least two or three times, so there is nothing to be ashamed of," Tifa said.

"Like that makes me feel any better. I got an average score, and I am not average! I am a 4.0 student! Students with a perfect GPA do not get average scores," Cloud said.

Tifa sighed. He was completely missing her point. Even though he was smart, he was just too dense to realize that he was being a snob. In a way, Tifa hoped that he would learn an important lesson from this whole process.

"Well, Cloud, I really hope that this new strategy of yours finally gets you the score that you want," Tifa said. She knew that she sounded ridiculous, but she was at a loss for words right now.

"It will work this time. I'm only going to take one practice test, and I'll just review, not study," Cloud said.

Tifa rolled her eyes at the other end of the phone. "Ok. . .that sounds. . .great," Tifa said.

"Tifa, you don't sound very thrilled. You should be happy that I'm striving for a score better than a twenty," Cloud said.

"Um. . .yeah, I am. I just don't think you should go boasting about how well you study and then beat yourself up afterwards, Cloud," Tifa said.

"You don't understand, Tifa. I spent all that time studying and I was rewarded with that hideous score," Cloud said.

Tifa had enough of Cloud's complaints. She was always very good with situations like these. But when it came to Cloud, who had to be the worst self-defeatist in the universe, she always ran out of encouraging words. This was when she would make up an excuse.

"I've gotta go, Cloud. My mom needs help with uh. . .folding the towels that just came out of the dryer," Tifa said.

"Alright, bye," Cloud said. It was too late because Tifa had already hung up.

The six weeks leading up to the ACT were rather uneventful. Cloud did his regular schoolwork, and implemented his ACT studying daily. All in all, he felt pretty good about this test.

So, the day of the ACT in June finally came. Cloud woke up feeling more nervous than he did before his last test. He knew that this couldn't be good. . .he was probably going to fail again.

Cloud managed to get himself to the high school. As he walked through the door, he knew that his college destiny awaited him.

_This is it I have to get this test right. I need to get a high score! I have to get into the honors programs! I MUST get a scholarship! If I don't, then I'll have wasted all of my time studying for this test!_

Little did Cloud know that these thoughts were going to be the downfall of him. If he had the power to look into the future, he would have brought a completely different mind set to this test. However, he could not see into the future, and he kept up his self-defeatist attitude.

Cloud leaned against the wall and slumped onto the floor. No one that he knew was taking the test. All of the other students were extremely nervous-looking freshmen who were taking the ACT for practice. Seriously, who would be weird enough to take the ACT in June, the week before school was out? Cloud, obviously.

After an antagonizing ten minutes of waiting, the door finally opened. Cloud showed the proctor his test ticket and driver's license as he entered the classroom.

"You can pick a seat anywhere you want," she said as he checked him in.

As he did last time, Cloud picked a seat in the first row of the class. He sat there as the other students piled in.

Once everyone was settled, the proctor walked up to the front of the classroom.

"Today everyone will be taking the ACT. . ."

_Blah, blah, blah. I already know what the proctor says. I've done this before._

Cloud just spaced out as the proctor gave the instructions for the ACT. Finally, she handed out the answer sheets and test booklets. As soon as the proctor instructed the class, he quickly wrote down his address, phone number, date of birth, social security number, and test code. He impatiently waited as the rest of the class finished.

"The test will now begin. The first test is in English and you have forty-five minutes for this test," she said.

Cloud got to work right away. He whizzed through all of the questions since English always came easy to him. He finished the test with fifteen minutes to spare. But what did he do? He went back and second guessed himself, changing his answers! If only he knew that his first choices were correct.

Once the English test finished, the Math test began. He had an hour for this test, which under normal circumstances would have been enough time. Unfortunately, Cloud wasted a ton of time on this test thinking that he wasn't doing the problems right, and he ran out of time. Luckily, he used his "letter of the day strategy" on the last ten questions that he didn't have time to answer. So, he was able to fill in each question.

The time ran up for the Math test and it was time for the ten minute break. Cloud ran out of the classroom and drank and entire water bottle.

_I just know that I've bombed the first two sections! _He spent the rest of the break beating himself up over a few stupid math problems.

The break ended, and it was time for Cloud to return to the classroom, where the fate of the ACT awaited him. The Reading test was uneventful, and was fairly basic. But the Science Reasoning test was an absolute nightmare.

Why? There were a lot of really hard graphs and overly-detailed charts on the test. As a result, Cloud panicked which caused him not to think straight. He knew that he didn't have time to solve out the questions; so he ended up picking random answers. Finally, the time went up. Cloud was somewhat relieved.

"The test is now finished. Please turn over your answer document and copy the statement," the proctor said.

Cloud copied the statement that said, "I am the person who took this test and I will suffer the consequences of falsifying my identity." (This isn't what the statement says; the author couldn't remember the exact wording.

Once everyone was done, the proctor looked up.

"Make sure that you have all of your belongings. Please do not talk in the halls, as other students are finishing the test. Have a good day," the proctor said.

Cloud ran out of the classroom. He felt bad and he knew that he had blown the entire test. He had to get home as soon as possible, and talk to a friend for support.

**A/N: Uh, oh. This can't be good. How do you think Cloud did on the ACT with THAT mindset? You'll have to review and wait to find out! **

**Special thanks go to:**

**worldreminiscence**

**And thanks to anyone who added this story to their alerts!**


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